Stargazers
by Steve Shives
Summary: Will Riker returns to Earth to attend the memorial service of Jean-Luc Picard, and finds himself seeking out new life and new civilizations along the way.


Will Riker can see himself in the screen of the computer terminal on the desk. His reflection in the glossy surface is dim, but clear enough that he can make out the white near his temples and through most of his beard. The wrinkles are harder to see, but he finds them because he knows just where to look. He stares into his own eyes.

There is more than his own face on the screen. There is a communique from Admiral Tryla Scott, Chief of Starfleet Operations. Reading it has made him suddenly very conscious of his age. He is not an old man by human standards. His health is good. He has decades left to live. But it occurs to him as his eyes remain fixed on the screen, his focus shifting from his image to the words of the admiral's message and back again, that he is older than he has ever been.

The ship's intercom chirps from somewhere over his head.

"Yes?" he says.

"Admiral," says the voice of Captain Asantewaa, "we've arrived at Grazer. Jaresh Base signals they are ready to receive you."

"Understood," he replies. "Thank you, Captain. Riker out."

A short time later he materializes on a transporter pad at Jaresh Base. There is an Andorian there to meet him. She introduces herself as Commander Talan, starfleet commander of Jaresh Base. Riker shakes her hand.

She leads him into the corridor. She shows him to his cabin. He drops his overnight bag onto the floor next to the bed. They exit and continue down the corridor.

Commander Talan makes intermittent small talk as they walk. Riker's contributions to the conversation are polite but brief.

They pass through a door into a large reception hall. There are people here sitting at tables or standing together in small groups. Riker guesses there are about fifty of them.

"Will!" he hears someone call out.

He turns toward the sound. There is a man approaching him, smiling. It's Geordi La Forge.

Riker returns the smile and shakes La Forge's hand. "I was so happy when I saw your name on the list for this," La Forge says. "How long has it been?"

"Well, you appear to be in good hands," says Commander Talan as she takes a step back. "I'll leave you to it, Admiral. If you need anything, please let me know."

"Thank you," he says. He turns back to La Forge. "Oh, let me see. Six years, hasn't it? Since you visited us on the Titan at Starbase 86?"

"That's right," La Forge says, glancing aside. "Six years. My goodness." He sighs. He turns back to Riker. "How is Deanna?"

"She's fine," Riker says. "She's meeting us back on Earth."

La Forge's cocks his head to the side. "Meeting us?"

"Geordi, is there somewhere we can go to have a word in private?" asks Riker, half-whispering. "There's something I need to tell you."

At the back of the reception hall is a row of tall windows and a door leading out to a portico. It is shortly after sunset. The sky is a light shade of purple, streaked with faint wisps the color of corn silk. There is no one else here.

"About an hour ago I received a communique from Starfleet Command," Riker says. "It hasn't been made public yet. I was one of the first to be told, and since I knew we'd be seeing each other, I asked that I be the one to tell you."

"All right," says La Forge, a look of concern on his face. "What is it?"

"Jean-Luc died yesterday. On Maxia Zeta III."

The expression is gone from La Forge's face. He holds Riker's gaze for a moment, then turns away to look at nothing in particular. "Oh," he says. After a moment he thinks to ask, "What was it? What happened?"

"Nothing," Riker says. "It was natural." He pauses. He raises his eyebrows. "Relatively natural. Apparently his artificial heart gave out in his sleep."

La Forge sighs. He lowers his head. "What was he doing at Maxia Zeta?" he asks.

"Attending the dedication of the new Federation consulate at the Ferengi colony there," Riker says. "Apparently he was fine, or seemed fine, and then last night, at some point, after he went to bed . . ."

"Yeah," says La Forge. "So. What happens now? You said we're going back to Earth?"

"Yes," says Riker. "I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of arranging travel for both of us aboard the _Sovereign_."

"Of course," says La Forge.

Riker nods. "Good. It's scheduled to arrive tomorrow. I'll make our apologies to the Grazerites and explain we'll be unable to remain for the conference. There's a memorial service on Earth in five days. I spoke to Deanna shortly before I beamed down. She's going to inform Beverly, and Beverly will get in touch with Wesley. Deanna's also going to try to find Guinan. And she'll tell Reg Barclay, who I think is stationed on Earth already."

"Yes," La Forge says, "he's still at Starfleet Communications, so far as I know. What about Worf?"

"I'll try to reach him tonight," Riker says. "Same for Chief O'Brien."

"He was teaching at the Vega colony, last I heard," says La Forge. "We keep in touch. I can call him, if you want."

Riker smiles half-heartedly. He nods. He puts his hand on La Forge's shoulder. "Fine," he says softly.

He returns to the reception hall to shake hands and converse indifferently with some of the other guests. This lasts only a few minutes. He retires to his cabin for the evening. He records a message for his wife telling her he loves her and promising to speak to her tomorrow.

He gets himself a drink from the replicator (bourbon and soda), and spends a quiet hour sipping it, listening to Slide Hampton, and recalling things that happened to him as a younger man.

"Computer," he says finally, "open a priority one channel to Qo'noS, authorization Riker-sigma-four-two-four." He sips his whiskey. "Recipient's name is Worf, Son of Mogh, House of Martok."

A tinkling sound comes over the comm line as the connection is established. The blue Federation emblem on the viewer is replaced by the red and black symbol of the Klingon Empire.

The comm line chirps and Worf appears on the screen. "Admiral," he says in what for him is a cordial tone. "It has been some time."

"Hello, Worf," Riker says. "I'm sorry it's been so long between calls. I wish I had a better reason for this one."

Worf inclines his head forward. He watches Riker from beneath his heavy brow. "What has happened?" he asks.

"The captain," Riker says. He hesitates. He looks down at his glass. He looks back up, into Worf's eyes. "The captain is dead."

Worf holds his gaze for a moment. He says nothing. He gives a slow, deliberate nod of his head. "I understand," he says. "Where must I go? And when?"

A wistful smile comes over Riker's face. "Earth. In five days."

"Very well," Worf says. "Thank you for informing me."

"Geordi and I will be traveling from Grazer aboard the _Sovereign._ Qo'noS would only require a short detour. I can arrange for us to pick you up, if you'd like."

Worf shakes his head. "That will not be necessary. I will see to my own transportation."

"As you wish," Riker says. "Well, then. I'll see you on Earth."

"Until then," Worf says. The call is terminated and the Federation emblem reappears on the viewer.

Two days later Riker is nursing another glass of bourbon and soda in his cabin aboard the _Sovereign_. La Forge is here as well, drinking a synthale stout.

After what feels like a long silence, La Forge looks up from his glass and says, "When did you see him last?"

"We saw each other briefly at Starbase 11 just a few weeks ago, actually," Riker says. "He was passing through on his way to Vulcan, and I was waiting for transport back to Earth. We didn't have time for more than a few words. If I had known that would be the last time . . ."

"I know the feeling," La Forge says.

Riker sips his bourbon. "But before that, the last time I saw him was at Deanna's and my anniversary party. Last year, I think. No, the year before. He'd just returned from an expedition on Tagus III. It was all he could talk about."

La Forge chuckles. "Oh, yeah. I spoke to him shortly after the announcement that the Taguan government was opening the ruins to outsiders. He tried to downplay it – you know how he is – but I could tell how excited he was. And proud."

"Rightly so," Riker says. "He was as responsible for the Taguans re-opening the ruins as anyone. Was that he last time you saw him?"

"No. The last time I saw him was on Earth about a year ago. I was presenting a paper at a design conference in Sydney. He was in Paris for a meeting with some members of the Federation Council, and came to visit for an afternoon. We ate lunch at this place he knew near Port Jackson."

La Forge glances aside for a moment. He shakes his head. "You know, it's funny. We sat there for two hours. I can't even remember what we talked about."

Riker feels a slight shudder pass through the cabin. He looks out the window. The stars have gone from lines to points.

"Why'd we drop out of warp?" La Forge says, looking from the window to Riker.

"Let's find out. Riker to bridge. Report."

After a moment the voice of Captain V'olgon comes over the comm line. "No cause for concern, Admiral. We detected a gamma-ray burst from a binary neutron star located approximately 50 light-years off our present course. We are pausing to conduct a standard survey. We should be back underway within the hour. The impact on our time of arrival at Earth should be negligible."

"Understood," Riker says. "Captain La Forge and I are on our way to the bridge. Riker out."

He turns to La Forge and shrugs. "Beats sitting here getting drunk, doesn't it?"

La Forge finishes his stout in one long drink, sets the glass down, and stands up. "I wasn't getting drunk," he says. He flashes Riker a grin. "But yes it does. Let's go."

Two minutes later they step off the turbolift onto the bridge of the _Sovereign_. The first officer, Commander Calvin, gets up from her chair and announces, "Admiral on deck!"

Captain V'olgon rises. He approaches Riker and La Forge and shakes their hands in turn. "Admiral. Captain," he says, nodding respectively to each of them.

"As you were, Captain," Riker says. "We're just here to observe."

"Of course," V'olgon says, showing his sharp Klingon teeth in something halfway between a grimace and a smile. "Please inform myself or the crew if you need anything," he says as he returns to his chair.

La Forge starts toward the starboard science station. "Preliminary findings of the standard survey, Lieutenant . . . ?"

"Amandra, sir. And I'm receiving the results of our first scan now," says the Bolian lieutenant at the console. "There's a star system with two class-M planets located approximately one hundred light-years from the source of the GRB," she says as she scrolls through the scan report.

"Is either planet in the path of the GRB?" asks La Forge.

Lieutenant Amandra's fingertips dance across the control console. "Yes, sir," she says. "Computer estimates the fourth planet will be in the path of the GRB when it reaches the system."

Riker walks over to stand next to La Forge. "What effect will the gamma-ray burst have on the planet?"

"That system has never been charted," says Amandra, "but generally speaking a gamma-ray burst of this size, originating from this distance would most likely result in a mass extinction event."

Riker turns toward the center of the bridge. "Captain."

V'olgon swivels in his chair to face Riker. He hesitates a moment, then stands. "I have been listening, Admiral. You are about to order me to alter course to this uncharted star system, I take it?"

"This is your ship, Captain, and these circumstances don't demand that I order you to do anything," Riker says. "I will remind you that regulations require any starship which encounters a natural phenomenon such as a gamma-ray burst to investigate inhabited or potentially inhabited worlds which may be endangered by that phenomenon, and render any assistance that is possible and permissible."

V'olgon's eyes narrow. "I am unfamiliar with that regulation."

"First gamma-ray burst?" La Forge asks. "Don't worry. Ours, too," he says, gesturing to Riker and himself.

"You may verify the regulation if you like, Captain," Riker says.

"That will not be necessary," says V'olgon. He takes his seat in the captain's chair and swivels back around to face the main viewscreen. "Conn, alter course for the threatened star system. Warp seven."

The conn officer estimates thirty-two minutes until they reach the system. Riker and La Forge spend most of the time at the bar of the _Sovereign's_ forward lounge. Riker switches to synthoholic bourbon at La Forge's suggestion.

The _Sovereign_ drops out of warp and Captain V'olgon pages Riker and La Forge to the bridge. By the time they step off the turbolift, Lieutenant Amandra has completed her initial scan of the fourth planet.

"Report," says Riker.

"Complex animal and plant life across most of the surface," she says, reading her display. "No evidence of humanoid or other potentially intelligent lifeforms."

Riker sighs. "That's a relief."

"Not for the animals," says La Forge.

"Very well," says Riker, raising his voice. "Captain, you may resume course to Earth at your convenience. My apologies for the–"

"Sir, wait," Amandra interjects.

Riker and La Forge turn back to the science station. Captain V'olgon leaves his chair to stand next to them. "Yes, lieutenant?" V'olgon says.

"I've also conducted a preliminary survey of the rest of the system," Amandra says. "I'm picking up what appear to be artificial radio sources. It could indicate the presence of intelligence."

Riker leans in and squints at the computer display. "I thought you said the other class-M planet won't be in the path of the GRM."

"The signals aren't coming from the other class-M planet, admiral," says Amandra. "The fifth planet is also class-M and won't be seriously affected by the GRM. But the signals I'm detecting are coming from the seventh planet. And the computer estimates it _will_ be in the path of the GRM when it reaches this system."

"The seventh planet is class-J," La Forge says, also reading the display.

Riker turns to Amandra. "You're detecting evidence of intelligent life on a gas giant?"

"Yes, sir," she says.

"It's theoretically possible," La Forge says. "Exobiologists have speculated for centuries that life could exist in the atmopheres of gas giants under the right conditions. I've never heard anyone seriously propose the possibility of _intelligent_ life, but we've certainly seen stranger things in our time."

"Agreed," says Riker. "Captain, it appears my apology was premature."

V'olgon holds up his hand. He turns toward his conn officer. "Take us to the seventh planet. Full impulse."

The _Sovereign_ enters orbit around the gas giant. Lieutenant Amandra launches a class 3 probe into its atmosphere. "Sirs, you'll want to see this," she says as data from the probe begins appearing on her screen.

Riker, La Forge, and V'olgon gather around the science station.

"My god," La Forge says, watching the video feed from the probe. He points out a series of large spherical objects afloat in the thick yellow clouds that fill the planet's sky. "Are those structures?"

"Yes, sir," Amandra says. "They appear to be made of a silicate material. If I had to guess, I'd say it was synthesized from naturally occuring compounds in the atmosphere."

"Synthesized by what?" asks Riker. "Are you detecting any life forms?"

"It's difficult to tell. There's a great deal of interference from the planet's electromagnetic field," Amandra says. "I'm detecting a layer of metallic hydrogen approximately 25,000 kilometers deep."

La Forge steps back and folds his arms. "That would generate a tremendous amount of electricity. If there are intelligent life forms here, and they've found a way to harness it, it could be a virtually inexhaustible source of energy."

"Between the wind and the pressure, the probe is taking quite a bit of punishment," says Amandra. "We'll lose it in the next few minutes."

"Isolate the frequencies of the radio signals you detected," La Forge says. "Try to pinpoint where they're originating from on the planet."

"I can't be certain with all the atmospheric interference, but the primary sources appear to be within those silicate structures," says Amandra.

La Forge turns to Riker. "If those structures house colonies of some sort, the radio signals could be part of a communications system."

Riker narrows his eyes. He gestures toward one of the silicate structures nearest the probe. "Magnify visual on that sphere," he says, "lower right quadrant."

Amandra magnifies the visual. "Geordi, what are those if you had to guess?" Riker asks, pointing out a swarm of dark shapes near the edge of the sphere.

"Whatever they are, it looks like they're entering and exiting the sphere," says La Forge. "Amandra, can you increase magnification any more?"

"Yes, sir."

La Forge smiles at the magnified image. "There they are."

"They look almost . . . aquatic," Riker says.

La Forge shakes his head in amazement, still smiling. "If there are seas on Jupiter, think of the fishing," he says with a chuckle.

"The computer's analyzed some of the artificial radio signals," Amandra says. "They're pretty garbled from the E.M. interference, but the analysis indicates evidence of encoded audio-visual content and language."

"Which means intelligence," Riker says. "And technology."

"Technology that is able to send and receive clear radio signals in this atmosphere," La Forge says. "That's an achievement unto itself."

A moment later, the video feed cuts out.

"That's it," says Amandra, checking her console. "We just lost the probe."

Captain V'olgon strokes his beard thoughtfully. "What effect will the gamma-ray burst have on the planet when it reaches this system?"

"It's difficult to say, sir," Amandra says, swiveling her chair around to face V'olgon, Riker and La Forge. "We know almost nothing about these beings or their technology aside from the fact that they exist." She pauses, and turns toward the image of the planet on the main viewscreen. "But I don't see how they'll survive."

The next day, with the _Sovereign_ once again on course for Earth, Riker meets La Forge for lunch in the forward lounge. La Forge arrives carrying a PADD. They sit across from one another at a table, order their drinks and appetizers. La Forge passes the PADD over to Riker.

"Lieutenant Amandra finished her analysis of the probe's findings last night," La Forge says. "Thought you might be interested."

"Objects similar in composition to the large silicate structures were found in low planetary orbit," Riker says, skimming the report summary. He looks up at La Forge. "Artificial satellites?"

La Forge nods. "Amandra also found traces in the atmosphere of chemical by-products that could be from a bipropellant rocket. She thinks they have a space program."

The server brings their drinks. Riker takes a long sip from his glass of beer. "It won't matter much when that gamma-ray burst hits," he says. "And since they're not a warp-capable species, there's nothing we can do. We can't even contact them to warn them about it, assuming we could figure out a way to communicate." He takes another sip, then sets his glass down. "They may not even realize it's coming."

"They may not," La Forge says, twisting his glass with his fingertips. "But that GRB originated a hundred light-years away from them. That means they have a hundred years before it hits. If they can achieve warp capability before then, the prime directive no longer applies."

Riker lifts his glass for another drink. "That's a big 'if.'"

La Forge shrugs. "It's not impossible. Humans launched our first artificial satellites a little over a century before Cochrane engaged his first warp drive. And they're already ahead of where we were in at least a couple of respects."

La Forge sees their server approaching. "I think this is us," he says. He takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly as he turns toward the row of windows behind him.

He turns back to Riker just as the server arrives with their appetizers. "Do you think they'll make it?" La Forge asks after the server walks away.

Riker says nothing. His eyes move from La Forge to the windows, and the unending rain of stars flying past them on the other side.

The _Sovereign_ reaches Earth the day before the memorial service. Troi arranges for everyone to meet for lunch in San Francisco: herself, Riker, La Forge, Worf, Beverly, Wesley, Barclay, O'Brien – everyone but Guinan, who hasn't responded to Troi's communique.

They sit together for hours, occupying their own corner of the restaurant, eating, drinking, catching up, taking turns sharing stories about work, and family, and home.

From there, they transport to the Smithsonian's starship museum outside of Washington, D.C. The museum is closed to the public today, but Riker has a word with the security guard, a former Starfleet petty officer as it turns out, and she lets them through.

They spend half an hour or so with the _Phoenix_. Riker peers through a porthole into the cockpit. He sees the seats where, incredibly, he and La Forge sat behind Zefram Cochrane as he piloted the ship on humanity's first faster-than-light flight.

For the rest of the day they wander from vessel to vessel: the _Xenophon_ , the _Shenzhou_ , the _Yorktown_ , the _Excelsior_ , the _Bozeman_.

The sun has gone down and the sky is dark when they round a corner to find the saucer section of the _Enterprise-D_.

Recovered and restored inside and out, the saucer appears as it did when it was still in service, before Veridian III.

They enter through an access hatch opening onto deck 10. Once aboard they split up to explore the ship on their own: Beverly to sickbay, O'Brien to transporter room 3, Barclay to holodeck 2.

Riker, La Forge, Worf, Troi, and Wesley all head to the bridge. They linger near their former posts: Wesley at the conn, Worf at tactical, La Forge at the aft engineering station. Riker and Troi take their old seats on either side of the captain's chair.

The captain's chair remains empty, as does the ops station.

Eventually, they all find their way back to deck ten, and Ten Forward. They take seats at the bar and on chairs pulled out from tables and dragged into a half-circle. For a long time no one says anything.

It is Troi who breaks the silence.

"You know," she says, "the last time this many of us were together was on the _Enterprise-E_ , before Will and I left for the _Titan_. After we lost Data. I remember we were all in the captain's quarters. He poured us glasses of his family wine and made a toast to absent friends. And now . . ."

"I'm sorry I missed that," says O'Brien. "I last saw the captain oh, five years ago or so. But these past few days, the time I've thought about the most was when I transferred to DS9. I stepped up onto the transporter pad, was just about to beam over to the station for good, and in walks the captain. He dismisses Maggie Hubbell, the transporter operator on duty. And he tells me, 'Chief, it won't be the same without you.' I've just been hearing him say that in my head over and over the whole time, ever since I got the news."

"I remember when I called to tell him I was coming back to Starfleet," Wesley says. "He said, 'Wesley, I'm very glad to hear it – if that is what you want.' I always felt like he was disappointed that I left. But when I came back, he wasn't like, 'See, I told you so!' or 'Look who came crawling back.' All he wanted to know was, was it what I really wanted? When we were all on this ship, he was so patient with me, even though I know I drove him up a wall a lot of the time. He always believed in me."

"When he promoted me to first officer of the _Enterprise-E_ ," Worf says. "He knew of certain . . . _blemishes_ on my record that would have convinced most other captains to not consider me for such a position. But he looked me in my eyes and said, 'I know your heart. I know the man you are.' That I will never forget."

"I'll never forget the look on his face after he accidentally called me 'Broccoli,'" says Barclay. They all laugh.

Then, quiet.

Beverly sighs softly. "We would have breakfast most mornings," she says, "here and on the _Enterprise-E_. And we met for breakfast the last time I saw him, which was only a month or so ago. Sitting here now, I'm glad that he and I managed to keep in touch all these years, to see each other as often as we did. I only wish the rest of us could have stayed as close. It's the strangest thing – I was thinking about it just yesterday – do you remember when he joined our poker game?"

Riker smiles. "Of course."

"There was a moment when he looked around the table at all of us," Beverly says. "And I think he realized something then. Because I realized it, too. I realized that the people sitting at that table with me were the best friends I'd ever had. They were my family. And now here we are, all together for the first time in I don't know how many years. And look what it took to get us here. Look where we had to come to make it worth the effort."

"Well, if that's the case I must admit I'm flattered," says a familiar voice. "You all hold your first reunion in however long it's been, and choose my former establishment for the venue."

They all turn to see Guinan standing in the entrance. She pauses there for a moment, then strides over to take up her once-customary post behind the bar.

"I'm sorry I'm late," she says to Troi. "Though truthfully, I did enjoy making a dramatic entrance."

"How have you been, Guinan?" Riker asks.

"I've been very well, admiral. I hope you can say the same."

Riker shrugs. "I can't complain."

Guinan smiles. "If everybody had that attitude, I would have been out of a job a lot sooner than I was! Now then, what have I been missing?"

"Just a bit of reminiscing," says Troi.

"Ah. Everyone takes turns sharing their favorite memory of the captain, that sort of thing?" says Guinan. "I can do that. Although, if I'm honest, I haven't been dwelling on specifics lately. Instead, I've been thinking over and over about how different this feels. See, as you might imagine, I've attended many funerals, lost many friends. For my people it's something we've gotten used to. It's inevitable when we grow close to people who . . . well, people who aren't _us_."

Guinan glances behind her. "Are these replicators working?"

"I don't think so," says La Forge.

"The holodecks weren't functioning, either," says Barclay. "I checked."

"Never mind," says Guinan, turning back to them. "We know that our loved ones from other species will grow old and die while we remain relatively unchanged. We're prepared. It doesn't make it any easier, ultimately, but when we form relationships with others, we know what we're in for from the start.

"But with Jean-Luc . . . with him, it was different. Or it felt that way, any how. Because of the unusual circumstances of our first meeting, I felt like I had known him for centuries. And maybe there was some part of me that thought – that hoped, somehow, that he would be here for as long as I was.

"When one of our own dies, it's different. You're losing someone you've known not for years, or decades, but for centuries, someone who existed on the same scale of time as you. And that's hard. Saying good-bye to that is hard. Particularly as there are so few of us left.

"But at the same time, I have this other feeling. Because I did know him for so long, because our friendship was so unique, I feel as though a part of him will always be present with me. And while losing him is sad, that part of him that remains doesn't make me sad.

"The first time we ever met, he saved my life. I was a stranger to him, but he was kind, he was cool, he refused to give up, and he found a way to save all of us when doing so seemed completely impossible. And the first time he did that was not the last time he did that. We've all been through it with him, many times.

"It got to the point that, whenever something scary was happening, some crisis or catastrophe, all I needed to know to not be scared was that he was with me. And I didn't know that everything was going to be all right, because you can't know that, not for certain. But no matter how dire the situation, whenever I saw him I knew there was a chance that things _could_ be all right."

The memorial service is held the next morning in Paris. Hundreds of friends, former crewmates, and Federation dignitaries attend. Dozens rise to speak – admirals, captains, ambassadors, officers and enlisted, politicians, ordinary people. One by one they share stories, pay respects, laugh, cry.

Riker tries to listen, but his eyes are drawn to the cylinder containing the captain's remains.

"Will," says Picard, "I know you and your father were never close."

They are sitting together in Riker's quarters aboard the _Titan_. He's holding a cup of tea Riker made for him. Riker can look out the window and see the _Enterprise-E_ off the _Titan's_ port side.

"I was never especially close with my own father," Picard continues. He takes a sip of tea. "There was such mutual resentment, so many years of bitter silence between us. And then suddenly one day there he was in the coffin. And I recall having the thought, 'There he is. That's him now.' And there was terrible sadness. But there was also relief."

He sets down his tea. "You know, I spent so many of the years we were all together on the _Enterprise_ holding everyone at arms' length, keeping a distance between myself and the people under my command. I suppose I was emulating the role models I'd been given. I've often wondered if that's the sort of father I would have been – remote, undemonstrative. I'd like to think not. I'd like to think that when my children found themselves staring at my coffin, they would not have the same regrets about their father as I had with mine."

After the memorial service they make their way to the Picard estate outside the village of La Barre. It's a private occasion, only Riker, Troi, La Forge, Beverly, Wesley, Barclay, O'Brien, Worf and Guinan in attendance. They sit in what was once his kitchen, sharing another bottle of his family wine.

Night falls. They move outside.

Passing over them in low-earth orbit is the _Stargazer_ , flying under its own power for the first time since it was recovered at Xendi Sabu. It is flanked by a dozen other ships, including the _Enterprise-F_ , the _Sovereign_ , and the _Atlantis,_ the last of the Galaxy class still in service.

Riker's communicator chirps. " _Stargazer_ to Riker," says the voice of Gilaad Ben Zoma, former first officer of the old ship, now in command of its final mission. "In position, waiting for your go-ahead."

Riker takes a breath. "Make it so, Captain."

At Ben Zoma's order, the _Stargazer_ launches a small cylinder from its forward torpedo tube. It tumbles rapidly down toward Earth, glowing hot as it enters the atmosphere. It melts and cracks from the heat, releasing the ashes it contains, leaving a trail of fine dust in its path.

A moment later the sky above La Barre is streaked with falling stars.

"There he is," says Riker to himself. "That's him now."

La Forge notices the smile that has crept across Riker's face. "What do you think?" he asks as he turns back to watch the meteor shower.

Riker looks over at La Forge. "I think they'll make it," he says.


End file.
